


never alone

by LiveLaughLovex



Series: dare to dance [21]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Post-Episode: s10e20 He Puhe'e Miki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23208997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: "Maybe this will give you some closure," Kono said hopefully.“And what if it’s the other way around?” he retorted. “What if it makes everything worse?”“Well,” she sighed, returning her gaze to the ocean. “You’ll work through that, too. And you won’t be alone,” she added sternly. “No matter what it is.”(Post-s10e20; After that phone call ends, Kono finds Steve on the beach outside his home.)
Relationships: Kono Kalakaua & Steve McGarrett
Series: dare to dance [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1507634
Kudos: 11





	never alone

“Hey, Boss,” Kono greeted softly, resting a hand briefly on the lieutenant commander’s shoulder before sinking into the sand next to him and hugging her knees close to her chest. She sat there in silence for a few moments, staring out at the waves as they crashed against the shore with a warm smile on her face. After several seconds, she glanced over at Steve, her concern only increasing as she studied his face. His brows were furrowed, his mouth set in a straight line, and the look in his eyes reflected both anger and despair as he kept his focus on the ocean. She didn’t know what had kept him outside, away from the rest of them, but she knew in that moment that it couldn’t be anything good.

“I was going to come find you earlier,” she tried, finally drawing his attention from the water and over to her, “but you were in the garage. I know what a sacred space that is to you, so I didn’t want to risk it.”

He cracked a smile at that, shaking his head slightly. “That’s just to keep Danny from invading,” he told her dryly. “Knowing him, he’d probably try to remodel the place.”

“Yeah, he’d definitely try alphabetizing your tools,” Kono agreed humorously. The smile slipped from her face a moment later. “Is everything okay?” she asked hesitantly. “It’s been over an hour since you came out here. People are starting to worry.”

“I, uh…” He paused, returning his gaze to the beach before them before continuing. “I just got a call from a guy named Michael Claypool. He’s a barrister in London. Apparently, my mother was in touch with him before she died.”

“Your mother died four months ago,” Kono pointed out, confused. “Shouldn’t everything she left behind have been given to the proper people by now?”

“Yeah, I thought that too,” Steve muttered, shaking his head. “She told him not to get in touch until exactly four months after her death, though. Made him promise to hand-deliver the package to me. He’ll be here in two days.”

“Do you know what it is?” Kono asked. “I mean, does _he_?” 

He shook his head slowly. “No. She never told him. Just that it had to be hand-delivered, and that he had to wait until she’d been dead four months. That’s all.”

Kono exhaled slowly, reeling at the new information. “You have any theories?”

“Not really,” he denied, sounding as hurt and frustrated as he always did when one of his parents was brought up in conversation. He always seemed so well-adjusted; it was hard, sometimes, to recall that he’d basically lost them both before he could even legally drive. “There’s a little part of me that doesn’t want to know. A lot of what my mother was up to, even there at the end…” He trailed off, falling silent for several seconds. “It wasn’t good,” he finished finally. “And I don’t know if I want to be in on all the secrets she kept for all those years.”

“Well, I highly doubt your mother would send you the literal skeletons in her closet, Steve,” Kono joked gently, reaching over to pat his shoulder. “Maybe you should wait until it gets here before you convince yourself it’s something awful.”

“I’m not the best at waiting for bad news,” Steve admitted quietly.

“Believe me,” Kono exhaled laughingly, “I’m aware.” She shrugged at the exasperated frown he shot her way. “Hey, I worked with you for over six years. I know better than most how impatient you are.”

“That’s fair,” he allowed, flashing his own smile in response to hers.

Kono quickly grew serious. “Look, whatever’s in that package… you’ll deal with it,” she told him. “You’ll figure it out, and you’ll work through whatever issues it causes you.”

“I’m still working through the last issues my mother caused me,” he quipped humorlessly. “I… see her, sometimes,” he admitted quietly. “In those last moments. I see Joe, too, and I hear my dad’s voice, the way he sounded over the phone the day…”

“Steve,” she murmured softly, waiting for him to meet her gaze before continuing. “They’re haunting you. And maybe… maybe whatever this package is your mom’s sending your way, maybe it’ll give you some closure. Maybe you’ll stop seeing ghosts around every corner.”

“And what if it’s the other way around?” he retorted. “What if it makes everything worse?”

“Well,” Kono sighed, returning her gaze to the ocean. “You’ll work through that, too. And you won’t be alone,” she added sternly. “No matter what it is.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, his smile genuine for one of the first times that evening as he glanced over at her. “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Will my heart ever not break when recalling the childhood Steve McGarrett got stuck with? Nope. No, it will not.


End file.
